WIRE: Study shows marijuana use in Colorado is stable after legalization

Denver, CO — The percentage of Coloradoans who report using cannabis has remained relatively unchanged following the regulation of the adult use market, according to data published online ahead of print in the journal Preventive Medicine.

Researchers at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reviewed statewide marijuana use data from January 1, 2014. They reported: “[M]arijuana use, both among adults and among youth, does not appear to be increasing to date. No change was observed in past 30-day marijuana use among adults between 2014 (13.6 percent) and 2015 (13.4 percent). Similarly, there was no statistically significant change in 30-day or lifetime marijuana use among high school students between 2013 (lifetime: 36.9 percent, 30-day: 19.7 percent) and 2015 (lifetime: 38.0 percent, 30-day: 21.2 percent).”

The findings are similar to those from the state of Washington and elsewhere reporting that changes in statewide marijuana laws are not associated with an increase in cannabis use by young people.

Researchers also reported that Coloradoans were most likely to consume cannabis by smoking it (83 percent) as opposed to consuming edibles or vaporizing it – a finding that is consistent with national trends.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, “Lessons learned after three years of legalized, recreational marijuana: The Colorado experience,” appears in Preventive Medicine.